


Choices

by 9haharharley1



Category: Invader Zim
Genre: Angst, First Kiss, Heavy Angst, M/M, So much angst, Ultimatums, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-10
Updated: 2016-02-10
Packaged: 2018-05-19 13:20:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5968717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/9haharharley1/pseuds/9haharharley1
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dib has to choose: either the one that's always been there or the first one who showed him kindness.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Choices

**Author's Note:**

> Moved from FF.net. Not beta'd.

The shock of the blow was that of a freight train out of nowhere. He fell to the ground on his back panting, desperately trying to take in air. The other fell on him, the man on the cold ground getting what little air he could knocked out of him. The second blow came, this time to the face.

 

“How dare you!” the man above him screamed. “How dare you take him away from me?! He was mine! He was always mine! From the very beginning, he belonged to me! And then you came along and fucked everything up!” Another blow, once again, landed in this stomach.

 

The abused man coughed, gasped, wheezed for breath, but was somehow able to manage a small chuckle. “Did you really think that? Did you really believe that he would love someone like you?” He chuckled again, following it up with a cough. “Look at you. You’re ugly. You’re filth. You don’t even belong here. You never did. What made you think that he’d ever want someone like you?” The other scowled, another hard punch landing on the man’s cheek.

 

“How dare you?! You insignificant pig!” Another blow landed, knocking the man’s head back. “Everything was fine until you came along! Just fine!” The attacker stood up, landing a sharp kick to the man’s temple.

 

His vision was fuzzy, now. His left eye was swollen shut. But he could take this. This used to happen all the time when he was a kid. He’d been in many fights in recent years, as well. This was nothing.

 

There was another kick to the ribs, and he curled up in pain, trying to protect those sensitive bones. He really didn’t want to worry about puncturing a lung. He could feel something trickling from his nose. It must have been blood. His attacker was still kicking. He must be quite a sight; there had to be blood everywhere.

 

A raged filled scream echoed in the damp alley he was lying in. Trash littered the ground, filling the space with an odor that made him want to vomit. He was hulled to his feet. Another punch to the face, and something came loose in his mouth. There goes another tooth. His other eye must have been black. It throbbed horribly.

 

“Why don’t you fight back?!” the monster holding him screamed. He was thrust up against a wall.

 

The man had to spit some blood out in order to talk. “Because that would make me no better than you.” The glob of fluid landed on his attacker’s boot.

 

That horrible, heartbroken, angry scream pierced the air once more, and he readied himself for another blow. It came in the form of a shattered kneecap. He screamed, falling to the ground, unable to support himself at all once the hands holding him let go. Tears of pain welled up in his swollen eyes. He clutched at his shattered knee with bloody hands, ignoring the two broken fingers his abuser had given him earlier.

 

“Fight back!” the monster screamed. “Fight back, damn you!” Looking up, the man was barely able to make out a certain shine on his attacker’s face. Tears. The monster was crying. He didn’t think he could.

 

“You’re pathetic,” he rasped out.

 

Those gloved hands reached for him again, claws ready to sink into his skin. He closed his eyes and waited for it. He had to admit, this was the worst beating he’s ever gotten.

 

“What the hell?” a new voice, this one faint over the rushing blood in his ears. It must be coming from the opening of the alley. It sounded vaguely familiar. “What the hell is going on here?”

 

The attacker froze, his body seizing up, dark eyes wide. He didn’t want to look. He couldn’t look. His hand clenched in a fist, bringing it up and ready to strike his victim one last time.

 

A body slammed into his, the newcomer full on throwing himself at him, catching the monster off guard. The victim lay in a bloody pile on the ground, vaguely able to make out the two wrestling blurs before him. He groaned in pain.

 

Somehow, someway, the newcomer was able to wrestle the abuser into submission, straddling the monster’s waist with his arms pinned above him. He threw a punch of his own, knocking the monster’s head to the side. No sound came out of figure under him. Instead, defeat settled in his eyes, silent tears still rolling down his cheeks. The newcomer stared down at him sadly, but not trusting him enough to let go. “Zim, what…?”

 

The alien finally looked up at him, red eyes staring into his own amber ones. The tears still came, but the alien’s face was blank. “You’re mine,” he stated. “You’ve always been mine. You can’t just up and leave me!” His voice was hard, deadly.

 

The teen above him scowled down at him. His grip on Zim’s hands tightened. “I don’t belong to you. I never belonged to you.”

 

Zim glared back at him. “You are my enemy. You have always been my enemy. You can’t just drop me to be with some smelly pig!”

 

“You just said it yourself, Zim!” Dib screamed back in his face. “We’re enemies! We’ll always be enemies! I don’t want to be your enemy anymore! I just want to have a normal life, with someone I can be normal with.” His beautiful amber eyes were hard behind his glasses, but there was a faint shine of tears hidden there, as well.

 

Zim’s face suddenly softened. “Then let’s not be enemies,” he cooed. He was able to wrench his hand out of the boy’s grip. “I don’t want to be enemies if you don’t.” That sharp, clawed hand came to stroke Dib’s cheek softly, wiping away the only stray tear that fell from the glorious orbs. “I just want to keep you close.”

 

The man lying on the ground glared at them, watching, waiting. He wanted to get up, to run over and repay the little green shit for his beating. He wanted to grab Dib and run, hide the adorable boy somewhere far, far away, where Zim could never find them. He growled low at the alien who thought he had a chance with his Dib.

 

A sob escaped the teen sitting above Zim. The green alien’s red eyes grew sad watching his longtime rival, the conflict on his face very obvious. “Shh,” Zim whispered, wiping the boy’s tears away, both hands now free to caress that soft face. “It’s okay.”

 

Dib tried so hard to fight back his sobs, squeezing his eyes shut. He didn’t want to choose. He couldn’t. He could not make that decision between the only one who had always been there, who had ever believed him and the only one who had ever shown him kindness, had accepted him. It was too cruel. One of them he may never see ever again. Dib couldn’t live with that.

 

He felt his face being pulled down and he opened his eyes. Zim’s eyes were lidded as he leaned up just so, refusing to take his eyes off those amber orbs he had come to love so much. Dib’s mouth met his softly, both of their eyes closing, enjoying this simple, sweet moment. Zim’s lips were smooth against Dib’s human ones, practically begging him to taste. Zim beat him to it, his serpent-like tongue snaking out to lick the seam of Dib’s lips, the teen granting him entrance. It was a whole new sensation for each of them, their tongues sliding against each other, the alien’s tongue exploring every inch of the human’s mouth as he could reach. Dib let him, so overcome with emotion that he was putty in Zim’s hands. Zim savored it for as long as he could.

 

Dwicky wanted to scream. His right eye widened as far as it could before narrowing, glaring death at the alien. His whole body screamed at him, demanding that he march over and rip teen away from the ugly little shit. How could he even stand to let him that close, let alone, kiss the little slime ball? His knee protested vehemently when he tried to sit up. Dwicky groaned in pain.

 

It was that little groan that made Dib pull away from the alien’s kiss. He glanced over at Dwicky, eyes growing sad at the pathetic pile he was. He glanced back down at Zim, those dark eyes searching for any tell the human could possibly give, refusing to look at the man he had tortured. His whole body seemed to sag at once, turning his head to stare away from both humans.

 

“Zim…” started Dib. He took in all the alien’s features, memorizing everything he already knew by heart; those dark eyes, the swoop of his antennae, the uniform he always wore, his face, mouth, and now the inside as well.

 

“You should go, then,” the alien muttered. He refused to look at Dib.

 

“Zim…” Dib wanted him to look at him, at least one last time.

 

“I said go!” He glared up at his human. “Get off of me!” He easily threw the lighter boy off his body, rolling over to face away from him. Zim could feel his heart breaking; he did not want to feel it shatter completely as Dib made his choice. No matter how hard he tried, tears still made their path down his face.

 

Dwicky cheered inside his head. Dib looked so broken, staring at Zim’s back. Eventually, the boy turned, face hard, tears drying on his cheeks, crawling over to Dwicky’s body. Dwicky knew his boy was tough. He would heal, and Dwicky would be there to make him forget all about Zim, replacing the alien in Dib’s mind with himself, making their own special memories together. Dib didn’t need Zim. He would see that in time.

 

Dib lifted the older man up carefully, one of Dwicky’s arms thrown around his shoulders while he wrapped his own around the man’s waist. The ex-teacher limped painfully, slowly, next to the boy as they made their way out of the alley, leaving the alien alone in sadness. Dib looked back, frowning at Zim who still lay among the garbage, back still turned to them. The longer he observed the more obvious the poor alien’s shaking got. He wanted to turn around right there, to run back and heal the broken invader, to make him whole again, to fight him like they used to, to kiss him until all his pains went away.

 

Then he felt a hand on his own. Dwicky smiled a bloody smile and Dib smiled back, if not sadly. He at least needed to take the man to the hospital first. Slowly, they continued on, this time without a glance back at the broken alien.

 

Zim cried harder.

**Author's Note:**

> Not sure if I want to continue this.


End file.
